Be sure to take your time with this project. You can accomplish all 66,000 stitches, but it will take several months to complete. if you have any questions feel free to post them here and there are a lot of us who will be glad to help you.

Though you are basically a beginner and this pattern is for an intermediate stitcher. hang in there. If you take your time you will accomplish it. I have faith in you.

It is a very beautiful pattern. This is obviously a very good friend.

THE VERY FIRST THING YOU SHOULD DO Make at least one Xeroxed copy of your pattern. Use the copy for marking off the areas that you have stitched.

Put the original in a very safe place so that you won't accidently mark it up.

Think about gridding your fabric to make it easier to keep your place. Use the search box at the top center of the Chit Chat page and type "gridding." You will get opinions pro and con on the subject.

I would recommend starting in the center of the project and work up and then down OR down and then up. That way your work be centered properly.
Before you start make sure that you have purchased enough fabric. The description says the stitched are is 21 x 16 inches. You will need an extra six inches in each direction so it can be framed. Using 14ct fabric you would need 27 x 22 inches.

Take your time. If you rush you might end up having to rip out stitches and that takes a lot more time than stitching.

Artecy has great patterns. The symbols are nice and clear. The pattern will be several pages. Don't worry about this -- it just makes the symbols easier to read. Work one 10 x 10 square area at a time.

IMPORTANT! Keep in touch. The chatters are not employees of ECS. We are happy to offer encouragement, help and opinions.

Nancy means every word of her post, and from someone who began a huge project without that kind of advice in advance, I recommend following every word of it. Making copies of your pattern is essential if you intend to mark off your stitches as you go. I didn't do this with my "Little Mermaid" project, and now the original pattern is so marked up with Sharpie that I had to get a new one for my backstitches and the opposite sides of the pattern. I also did not grid the fabric for this project, and have had to rip out a lot of stitching that took me days to complete. Her advice will save you a lot of time and frustration from the start.

The only advice I can offer up that has not been given already involves floss conversions. If you already have your own floss for the project, as opposed to using what usually comes with the kit, then you're on the right track. If you're using DMC instead, and intend on using a conversion chart to swap out your kit floss for DMC, I recommend doing this first, before stitching a single stitch. I decided about 1/16th of the way into my "Little Mermaid" project to use DMC floss instead of Candamar, and many of the colors do not translate the way they convert them. For example, a better match for Candamar's 6151 - Very Dark Blue, ended up being DMC 3750 - Dark Antique Blue, as opposed to DMC 823 - Dark Blue that they recommended. Waiting to do this after you already start could result in major color differences, and may end up disheartening you a bit.

Have fun with this pattern, it looks like a beautiful subject! How long do you have until the housewarming?

MobleyMouse -- FYI This is not a kit. It is an Artecy pattern. The suggested flosses are all DMC.

I do agree that in many cases someone purchasing a kit should swap out the floss for a DMC substitute.

Nancye G has given you some good advice. I forgot to mention about making copies. I make 2 copies of all large patterns that I do. One is for marking up as I stitch with a highlighter. The other one I tape together and mount on my design board to mark off each page as I finish it.

Everyone has their own feeling about gridding. I don't do it. Tried it once several years ago, but took too much time and didn't help me much. if it works for you good.

I start all my large projects in the top left hand corner 3 inches in from the top and the bottom. This also is the stitcher's choice. For smaller projects I start in the center. I also do my stitching in more than 10 x 10 squares. It depends on the pattern I work several squares at a time with certain colors.

Luckily there are no "stitching police". What ever works best for you is what you should do. There are several experienced stitcher's on this chat room so you will be able to get many choices for your project.

Happy stitching!!!

She IS a very good friend! I should have enough time to finish. I figure it will take me until at least summer to finish. They were going to break ground last summer, but then had a lot of problems with the fishing pond they are putting in and flooding, so it is being put off for the winter.

I did buy the gridding stuff. I didn't want to make any amount of progress only to find out that I made a mistake somewhere.

I bought 30x36 fabric. Should that be enough?

I wish that MCG Textiles would release their Disney Dreams Collection in just the patterns. The kit are so expensive, and I've bought two so far that have had shoddy fabric or nowhere near enough floss in certain colors. I'd like to buy the majority of the kits in the series because I love the patterns, but for 45-55 dollars apiece, it seems far too steep when I'm also having to buy my own fabrics and at least $20 in floss for some of them. I wish ECS could somehow get the rights to sell the patterns on their own, my little world would be a glorious place in that event! *hint hint cough cough*

Rosebud,
To answer your question regarding the size material you have bought for the "deer" project you will be doing for your friend.

Are you doing it on 14-count Aida?

If you are using 14-count Aida and stitching over one square on a project that measure 300 stitches wide x 223 stitches high, AND ADDING 3 inches to EACH side of the fabric for mounting and framing, your project will be:

STITCHED area: 21 1/2 inches wide x 16 inches high

Fabric needed: 27 inches wide x 22 inches high

So your fabric of 30 inches x 36 inches should be plenty...

I'm one of the stitchers that visit the "Chat" messageboard, not an employee of ECS

Someone in another chat said something about working in the 10x10 squares causing ridges...???

I like to find center and start with that color and do as much of it as I can usually a dark color and use it as a reference. I count from one spot and then count from another spot to see if they match.